Friends And Disc Golf - Do They Help Or Hinder?

The disc golf community is known for being a friendly atmosphere and typically most people begin their involvement in the sport because a friend of theirs dragged them out to a local course. There’s no doubt that having a close pal in your scene, whether it’s for casual play or more competitive events, is part of what makes the sport so awesome, but is there a point where your friends matter too much?

It’s not something that’s talked about widely on social media, but on a ground level there seems to be enough influence from friends to make it something we wanted to address: can your friendships in disc golf help or hinder your performance?

Being A Social Butterfly

There’s no doubt that being friends with a lot of disc golfers helps to create bonds within the community and can even come in handy when promoting local tournaments or work parties. However, do you find that your friendships influence your disc golf decisions?

For example, maybe you are so chatty during tournament play that you don’t focus on your game as much as you should, especially when your best buddy is put on the same card as yours. If you skip certain events and only compete in the ones that your friends are playing in, are you really being true to your own game, or is the sport more of a social time for you than anything else?

There’s no wrong answer, but it might be interesting to consider what your motivations are when it comes to your own performance and how your friends might factor into it.

Professional Relationships

When we step back and examine friendships on a larger scale, how do these relationships factor into the decisions that pro players make when it comes to their career? Sometimes when a player switches from one sponsor to another, you might see a buzz on social media that talks about the true motivations of the change: “He just wants to be with his friends” or “She’s got a hook up there, that’s why they sponsored her.”

More often than not, these types of decisions are made with the player’s own best interests in mind - after all, our top athletes treat their careers with professionalism and would hardly jeopardize their success just for more hangout time with their buddies.

With that being said, there’s certainly an attractive element to visiting certain stops on tour that you know your friends will be at. Sure, you can compete anywhere across the nation and have a great time simply being out there and playing the sport you love, but if your friends are there to head out to dinner with you afterward, that simply adds to the appeal.

We’re curious how you think friendships influence disc golf decisions, whether it comes to a casual round, a local tournament, or a sponsorship decision. Do friendships shape these facets of the game more than they should, or is there a perfect balance already between a love of the game and the love for your pals? Let us know in the comments!